Thoughts on some programs I'm considering ranking highly?

[TW_]

Hi, I was hoping anyone might be able to weigh in on these programs as I had a good time during my interviews and believe they'd probably all be able to get me to my eventual goals:

UC Irvine
Baylor (Houston)
Northwestern
Cedars-Sinai

I know these will be among my top choices, just don't know order. Thoughts? I'm thinking of going into ped path btw if that makes any difference.

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[Unty]

If you are truly interested in peds path, I recommend you aim for the top programs-Boston Childrens Hospital or Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Peds path is such a small academic field so where you train for peds path is important but not the end of the world if you dont get into those two programs. These two programs are outstanding for pediatric surgical pathology. You want to go to a busy pediatric pathology program where you will see a lot of surgpath. Also, WHO you know is important.

Having said that, from the places you listed, Northwestern Lurie Children's Hospital has a big name in pediatric pathology in Elizabeth Perlman. All the neuroblastoma cases get sent in from across the country to her.

In regards to your California programs, Shimada (another big name who created the classification system for neuroblastoma) is at LA Childrens Hospital (USC), so you can always do a rotation there since you would be nearby. LA Childrens (associated with USC) has a well regarded pediatric pathology program as well.

I dont know much about Baylor but you can do rotations at Texas Childrens Hospital.

I guess it really depends where you can see yourself for the next four years (fit with residents, attendings and the residency culture being MOST IMPORTANT, although weather for me is important as well)

Pediatric pathology is not a competitive field to get a fellowship in, except for the top programs I mentioned. There are many unfilled programs each year. The job market is good in peds path as well.

 

[TW_]

Thanks so much for your input, I definitely took into account residency programs that have their own children's hospital so irvine, nw, and baylor are prob gonna be my top three.

Baylor has a huge children's hospital I'm just not sure how I feel about Houston for four years.

I know irvine sends residents to CHLA for ped path fellowship and since I'm kind of hoping to end up on the West Coast I think it'd be a decent option for me although I know at cedars I could do an elective at CHLA.

I know it's def recommended that I aim for a top program ped path fellowship and I will, I'm just not sure how much which of these 3 residencies I end up will make a difference in achieving my goals.

If you are truly interested in peds path, I recommend you aim for the top programs-Boston Childrens Hospital or Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Peds path is such a small academic field so where you train for peds path is important but not the end of the world if you dont get into those two programs. These two programs are outstanding for pediatric surgical pathology. You want to go to a busy pediatric pathology program where you will see a lot of surgpath. Also, WHO you know is important.

Having said that, from the places you listed, Northwestern Lurie Children's Hospital has a big name in pediatric pathology in Elizabeth Perlman. All the neuroblastoma cases get sent in from across the country to her.

In regards to your California programs, Shimada (another big name who created the classification system for neuroblastoma) is at LA Childrens Hospital (USC), so you can always do a rotation there since you would be nearby. LA Childrens (associated with USC) has a well regarded pediatric pathology program as well.

I dont know much about Baylor but you can do rotations at Texas Childrens Hospital.

I guess it really depends where you can see yourself for the next four years (fit with residents, attendings and the residency culture being MOST IMPORTANT, although weather for me is important as well)

Pediatric pathology is not a competitive field to get a fellowship in, except for the top programs I mentioned. There are many unfilled programs each year. The job market is good in peds path as well.

 

[alpinebrook]

It probably won't make much of a difference. Some programs have dedicated peds path rotations, others have peds path integrated throughout the regular surgical pathology service; if you are self-motivated, show interest, seek out the cases, etc., you would probably be fine no matter where you go, even if the program is not known for peds path. Even if you do go to a place with a dedicated rotation, but it's not til later on, you should be able to ask to do it earlier to make sure you do in fact want to pursue the field. I just interviewed at a program without a peds path fellowship, and they recently had a graduate get a fellowship somewhere else. (The program is not known for being strong in peds path.) And the same program has a current resident who also wants to do peds path. Long story short, if you're hardworking, very little should hold you back. Most programs even allow you do to away electives, so you can take advantage of that too. I'm also interested in peds path, so I've picked the brains of the many pediatric pathologists I've met along the way!